Adjacent Brooklyn Buildings Net Record Sale Price

A pair of adjacent apartment buildings in the Kensington section of Brooklyn have sold for a combined $10.33 million, GFI Realty Services announced.

New York—A pair of adjacent apartment buildings in the Kensington section of Brooklyn have sold for a combined $10.33 million, GFI Realty Services Inc. announced. The buildings at 241-245 Ocean Parkway fetched a price of $323,000 per residential unit, a record per-unit price for the area.

Together, the two pre-war properties offer 32 two- and three-bedroom residential units, as well as 24,000 square feet of air rights. Most of the apartments are unoccupied. The purchaser plans to begin renovations in the near future.

“This was an excellent time for the seller to divest himself of this asset,” said GFI Realty Services, Inc. senior director of investment sales Erik Yankelovich. “With the strength of the local real estate market and the current state of the building, the seller expected to find strong interest, and we ultimately secured a record-setting price for him.”

The properties are just steps away from Prospect Park and offer easy access to the retail shops and restaurants along Church and Coney Island Avenues. A number of bus and subway lines are also conveniently located to the buildings.

As for potential problems getting the deal completed, Yankelovich said, “There really weren’t any. The buyer immediately saw the potential in this deal and moved quickly on this rare off-market opportunity.”

Before that, the seller had created value by vacating many units over the last few years, Yankelovich added. “Located just several blocks away from the 33 Caton property that sold for $76 million, this transaction is another indication of the willingness of institutional investors to penetrate well into Brooklyn to acquire quality properties,” he said.

Under the new ownership, the pair of buildings will continue as rental properties, with the buyer leveraging the desirable location and the robust demand for apartments in the Kensington neighborhood.

In addition to making physical improvements to the building in the form of renovations, new ownership will also engage in lease-up activity, increasing the number of tenants in the contiguous buildings, Yankelovich said.